Intro:

Russian tenth seed Ekaterina Makarova eased past a disappointing Simona Halep 6-4, 6-0 in Melbourne on Tuesday for a semi-final spot at the Australian Open.
Maria Sharapova advanced into the semi-finals at the Australian Open on Tuesday with an impressive 6-3, 6-2 victory over Eugenie Bouchard in Melbourne.

Script:

Ekaterina Makarova entered the court for her Australian Open semi final, looking to progress to her second succsessive Grand Slam semi.

Standing in her way was third-seeded Simona Halep.

But it was Makarova who raced to a 3-0 lead in the first nine minutes of the match and went on to take the first set 6-4.

It took her just an hour and eight minutes to dispose of Halep. She took the second set 6-0 to make it a comfortable straight sets win under the sunny skies at Melbourne Park.

Elsewhere, five-time Grand Slam winner Maria Sharapova took on Eugenie Bouchard.

The Canadian was on a quest for a first major title, but Sharapova dominated on serve and took the ball early in an effort to keep points short against her 20-year-old opponent.

Sharapova took the first set 6-3.

The Russian has twice been a finalist in Melbourne, in 2007 and 2012

It was a similar story in the second set, and Sharapova took it clinically for a straight sets victory and a place in the Australian Open semi finals.

Sharapova will face fellow Russian Makarova in the last four.